Karamo booted out as state GOP delegates boo Hoekstra, dump Weiser as U-M regent

BY JON KING, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Being the chair of the Michigan Republican Party can be a thankless job, and that reality was never more on display than it was Saturday when the current leader was loudly booed by delegates, the previous chair was forcibly removed from the premises, and another former chair was denied the opportunity to run again for his elected position.

The MIGOP’s convention at the Dart Financial Center in Flint ran a full 12 hours and concluded with delegates selecting candidates for Michigan Supreme Court, State Board of Education, as well as the boards of the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

The Michigan Democratic Party held its own state convention in Lansing on the same day, where there also was drama surrounding a contested race for two U of M regent slots, ending with pro-Palestinian supporters threatening to withhold their votes from the party in November.

In Flint, the divisions that have been the hallmark of the Michigan GOP the last few years were on full display. They began relatively early when former Chair Kristina Karamo, who had been removed from the position in January, said she wanted to show support for Alexandria Taylor, who unsuccessfully sought a Republican nomination for Michigan Supreme Court. But current party officials said she was not a registered delegate and had police escort her out.

“I’m here on behalf of Alexandria Taylor, and this is why the Michigan Republican Party is failing as an organization currently. We have corrupt people. Instead of trying to unify and focus on winning the election, instead they’re kicking out their political enemies from the convention [that] I have a right to be at,” Karamo said as she was being escorted off the convention floor by Flint law enforcement.

Karamo said Taylor was a candidate who had the right to have representatives supporting her—and the fact that she was removed even though serving Taylor in that capacity was a sign that the party’s integrity had been compromised.

“We will not tolerate globalist cult members infiltrating our party and electing Republican posers who are nothing more than uniparty members who destroyed the country slower than Democrats,” said Karamo on social media afterward.

Michigan GOP’s executive director Tyson Shepard said Karamo was not a registered delegate, adding that she had been offered a guest credential, which she refused.

“She was asked to politely leave but refused. Law enforcement was called and escorted her out of the building for causing a disruption and clogging up the floor, and we thank them for their handling of the situation,” Shepard said in a statement. “… Due to the disruptive actions of a handful of participants, law enforcement have decided to increase their presence to ensure a safe and smooth convention.”

The division only escalated when current Chair Pete Hoekstra—who is still involved in a legal fight with Karamo, who claims she’s the rightful leader of the party—got up to address the delegates and was met by jeering from the party faithful, many of them grassroots supporters of Karamo.

“This is why he was so aggressively booed multiple times by the convention delegates, because he has corrupted the party on so many instances,” said Karamo. “This was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Despite the internal turmoil, the delegates did get about the business they had gathered for, nominating state Rep. Andrew Fink (R-Adams Twp.) and Branch County Circuit Judge Patrick William O’Grady to run for two seats on the Michigan Supreme Court this November.

“I’m honored to have received the support of so many and I look forward to the next phase of this campaign,” posted Fink. “As a team, over the next 73 days, we can spread the message of justice for all across Michigan and work to rebuild a Rule-of Law Supreme Court.”

Delegates notably chose Fink over Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Mark Boonstra, who had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump. GOP former attorney general nominee Matt DePerno, who is facing charges related to stolen election equipment after the 2020 election, had pulled out of the Supreme Court race just prior to the convention.

Democrats currently control the state’s highest court with a 4-3 majority. If Republicans win both seats, they can flip control.

Fink will run for an eight-year term on Nov. 5 against University of Michigan law professor Kimberly Ann Thomas, who was nominated by Michigan Democrats at their convention Saturday in Lansing. That seat is opening up with the planned retirement of GOP-nominated Justice David Viviano. O’Grady, meanwhile, will vie for a partial four-year term against incumbent Justice Kyra Harris Bolden, who was appointed in 2022 by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Also up for nomination was Ron Weiser, the state GOP chair who preceded Karamo, as he sought to run again for University of Michigan regent. However, the delegates rejected Weiser, a former ambassador who has donated millions to U of M, and instead chose asset manager Sevag Vartanian, and former MIGOP Treasurer Carl Meyers.

It was just the latest in a string of defeats for Weiser, who chaired the party in 2022 when Democrats took control of the Legislature for the first time since 1984. Weiser was also censured by the U of M board and stripped of his committee assignments after referring to Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, as “witches,” who needed to be defeated by “burning at the stake.”

Also not selected for renomination was Auburn Hills attorney Dan Kelly, who sought to retain his seat on the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, which he currently chairs. Instead, delegates chose Plymouth Township real estate broker Mike Balow, who unsuccessfully ran in 2022, and former Novi City Council Member Julie Maday.

Delegates did renominate Michael Busuito to retain his seat on the Wayne State University Board of Governors, along with self-described entrepreneur and philanthropist Sunny Reddy, a newcomer.

Delegates renominated both GOP incumbents to the State Board of Education, former state Rep. Tom McMillin and Nikki Snyder, who has embarked on congressional and US Senate runs.

READ MORE: Karamo asks court to reinstate her as Michigan GOP chair

This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.